Trust as the dominant relational mechanism in digital platform-based enterprises: Evidence from China’s tea poverty-alleviation context

Abstract

This study examines whether customer trust is the dominant relational mechanism through which digital platform features shape customer loyalty in China’s Tea Poverty-Alleviation Enterprises (CTPAEs). Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework and Relationship Marketing Theory, the study compares the roles of customer trust and customer engagement within a single structural model. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was conducted among consumers who had purchased CTPAE tea products through digital platforms, and 400 valid responses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings show that digital platform features positively influence both customer trust and customer engagement. Customer trust has the strongest direct effect on customer loyalty and generally transmits the effects of platform features more strongly than customer engagement, although engagement remains a significant complementary mechanism. Platform interactivity affects loyalty only indirectly through trust and engagement, while information transparency, content personalization, and social value communication show both direct and indirect effects. These results indicate that loyalty in mission-driven digital platform environments is formed mainly through trust-based relational confidence rather than interaction intensity alone. Practically, CTPAEs should prioritize transparent information, credible poverty-alleviation communication, reliable service delivery, and meaningful engagement design so that digital platforms communicate both product value and social value. This approach can help mission-driven enterprises convert online platform experiences into sustainable customer loyalty.